Residents wait on City after 95 homes destroyed in Hout Bay fire

A pile of twisted zinc, blackened metal frames and some gutted electrical appliances were all that remained of Portia Xakatha’s belongings after a fire destroyed 95 homes at Mandela Park in Imizamo Yethu, Hout Bay, yesterday.

Xakatha and the other fire victims were yesterday going through what was left of their homes.

Xakatha said she does not know how she will rebuild her three-bedroom shack in which she and her three children lived.

She said the City had not yet evaluated the fire damage, nor had it provided building material.

She did not know how the fire started, but it was rumoured to be as a result of an unattended paraffin stove.

Xakatha said she woke up to flames that engulfed her neighbour's shack and by the time she started taking her belongings to safety, it was too late.

“It's frustrating that I have to rebuild my shack from nothing,” she said, adding the only solution to avoid fires in the area was for the community to be provided with brick houses.

“Every few months we experience these fires, it is as if we are cursed.”

Community leader Lungisa Bezile said it was not clear what the City's intentions were or whether they planned to super-block the area and relocate the fire victims to a different site or not.

“We are in limbo and will meet the relevant stakeholders for a way forward.”